Mothers of Daughters Trapped on Cruise Ship Describe Their 'Gut-Wrenching' Pleas to Come Home

The Carnival cruise ship ‘Triumph’ remains stranded in the Gulf of Mexico after a fire caused engine failure on Sunday. Toilets aren’t working and passengers are reportedly eating onion sandwiches. Two mothers whose daughters are stuck in the ship with their fathers spoke to Shepard Smith today.

Mary Poret said her 12-year-old daughter called her on Monday “hysterically” crying. “She was afraid that she would never get to see me again. It was very hard to convince her that it was going to be okay. You know, I had to convince myself.”

When Kim McKerreghan spoke to her 10-year-old daughter, she described how hot it was on board. That’s because there’s no power on the packed ship floating in 90 degree weather. McKerreghan’s daughter pleaded for her mother to pick her up. “Just to hear your daughter’s gut-wrenching cry and you can’t go and get her, […] you feel helpless.”

On Monday, their daughters said they’d been asked to use the bathroom in red plastic bags because the toilets were overflowing and sewage was coming up through the showers. The mothers have antibiotics on hand to give to their daughters and plan on taking them to a doctor as soon as they disembark.

The ship is moving at eight miles an hour and is expected to arrive in Mobile, Alabama by Thursday. Poret said, “[Kim and I] want to be here when that ship comes in to make sure that our daughters know that even despite everything, bottom line is their mommies are here.”

As for the cruise line, Carnival says they'll reimburse passengers and offer them a free ticket to do it all over again. As for the mothers, Poret said they're not getting anything for "the stress and horror that they've put us through."